The fate of Rochelle’s varsity football season will be decided when the Hubs travel for their final game against the Kaneland Knights on Friday.
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ROCHELLE — The fate of Rochelle’s varsity football season will be decided when the Hubs travel for their final game against the Kaneland Knights on Friday.
Rochelle (4-4, 3-1 NIB-12 West) kept its playoff hopes alive with an impressive 42-7 victory over Ottawa this past week. The Hubs must defeat Kaneland (6-2, 3-1 NIB-12 East) to qualify for their third consecutive postseason berth, and head coach Kyle Kissack understands the challenges the Knights will present. Rochelle will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2015 with a loss.
“This week has been about finding ways to get better because we’re going to go and play a really good football team Friday night,” Kissack said. “They run the football really well on offense and they’ve always thrown the ball effectively. They’re a lot more physical this year and they have a couple of good running backs to give the football to.”
Kaneland has already qualified for the playoffs, but the Knights are still searching for the NIB-12 East Championship after crushing Morris 50-14 on the road last week. Kaneland picked up impressive victories over DeKalb (21-20) and Hinsdale South (6-0) earlier this season. The Knights are led by head coach Patrick Ryan.
“This will be the toughest defense we’ve seen all year,” Kissack said. “They’re everything that we coach our kids to be. This is a good football team, and our kids are focused on the things they can do to get better this week.”
Rochelle and Kaneland’s last meeting came in 2015, when the Knights defeated the Hubs 41-7 on the road. Kaneland has won nine consecutive games against Rochelle dating back to 2008, but the Hubs will be seeking to reverse their fortunes with their season on the line.
The Knights will look to rally behind running back Jonathan Alstott, who totaled 13 carries for 216 yards against Morris last weekend. Quarterback Joe Smith completed seven passes for 213 yards.
“They’re fairly unique in that they’ve historically liked to throw the ball, but they have some really good running backs this well as well as a really physical offensive line,” Kissack said. “They’ve been about 60-to-40 in favor of the run over their last four games or so… They’re a very good football team.”
Senior Noah Knight will play for the Hubs after being day-to-day over the last two weeks with a rib injury. Knight will start at fullback and nickelback on defense alongside junior defensive backs Wade Samp and Ethan Etes as well as senior Louie Mancinas. Rochelle has relied on many seniors this season, but juniors such as Gavin Ansteth, Charlie Jandak and Austin Greifenkamp, who had an interception last week at Ottawa, have provided quality reps for the Hubs.
“I think Charlie has really exceeded our expectations,” Kissack said. “He’s as solid of an offensive lineman as we have… Gavin has stepped up and played some really important minutes for us over the last few weeks.”